


happy halloveen

by justwannabeafangirl



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: 5x04, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, and amy takes the heist so seriously but she also just really loves jake, halloveen, jake is such a sap honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-07 01:52:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13424190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justwannabeafangirl/pseuds/justwannabeafangirl
Summary: Jake and Amy's individual POVs of the HalloVeen episode, but with way more backstory, plus a bonus chapter. I just wish the episode was longer than twenty minutes so the writers could have fit even more details into the episode!! But since they couldn't, I wrote them myself : )





	1. jake

Jake Peralta did not like waking up early.

Once he finished school and started working for the NYPD, he did everything he could to avoid the earliest shift. But when he did have to take it, as was often as a new cop, it wasn’t likely that he would make it there on time. Fortunately, his boss let it slide, for the most part, because he was so good at his job. He’s since moved up in the ranks and switched to the Nine-Nine, but unfortunately for him, he still couldn’t get out of the early shift. But he did show up on time a lot more often, partly because Captain Holt insisted on it, but mostly because he just loved his job.

The thing was, there were only two reasons why Jake Peralta would willingly wake up early: Amy Santiago and the Halloween Heist.

And today, he was waking up early for both.

He’d known since April 28th that he wanted to propose to Amy. They’d been lying in bed together on a Friday morning; both of them had a day off from the precinct that day (they’d started taking their days off together since they started dating), and they were taking the rare chance to relax together with nowhere they needed to be. Amy, of course, was completing that day’s New York Times crossword puzzle, while Jake was scrolling through social media on his phone. They sat in a comfortable silence until Amy suddenly said, “There’s a typo in this crossword puzzle!”

Jake looked over at her, her eyes still on the puzzle in front of her, and took in Amy’s slightly messy hair, her makeup-less face, and her pajamas. For some reason, even though Amy intently working on the crossword puzzle was an everyday occurrence and today was no different from any other day, Jake had never loved her more than he did in that moment. And, as a grin slowly spread across his face, that special grin that he only had for Amy, that was when he knew.

He, Jacob Peralta, wanted to marry the heck out of Amy Santiago.

In the half a year since then, whenever he had a free moment at work or whenever Amy was out shopping or with friends, Jake would think about how he was going to propose to Amy. It needed to be emotional and dramatic; she was a huge hopeless romantic, and she always cried whenever they watched those cheesy movies where the girl and the guy always fall in love at the end. So, of course, Jake had to somehow find a way to out-cheese the cheesy movies.

The first step, though, was finding the perfect ring.

Jake wished he knew enough about jewelry to be able to pick out the ring himself, but he honestly had no idea what he was doing. His first thought was to ask his mom for an engagement ring from the family, but then he remembered how much of a disaster his parents’ marriage had been and there was no way he was using any part of that to propose to the love of his life. Absolutely not. So despite his crushing debt, as he often referred to his financial situation, he was going to buy a ring. But first, he needed backup.

Jake’s next thought was to call Boyle, his best friend and most likely his future best man, assuming Amy said yes. But then he realized it would be much more satisfying for the proposal to be as much of a surprise for him as it was for Amy, and besides, he would probably end up saying something super creepy about him and Amy and ruin the whole ring shopping experience. Not to mention the high likelihood that he would just tell Amy about his proposal plans and ruin the surprise entirely. Jake made a mental note to never tell Charles anything about him and Amy ever; as much as he wanted to constantly gush about how incredible Amy is, choosing Charles as the recipient of said gushing would absolutely not end well.

After ruling out both his mother and his best friend, his train of thought turned to Gina, his childhood best friend. He didn’t know if she would take the shopping as seriously as he wanted her to, but between her and Rosa, the only other female in the precinct besides, of course, Amy herself, she definitely was more well-versed in romance. As great as Rosa was at police-work and intimidating the heck out of everyone, her strengths did not lie in romance and feelings. Gina, though, at least somewhat knew what she was talking about, and she was pretty great at keeping secrets. It helped that their shared childhood meant that he could trust her.

Once Amy finally finished April 28th’s crossword, albeit flawed, she set the paper down on the nightstand on her side of the bed before turning to Jake and kissing him gently on the cheek. “I’m going to go take a shower real quick, okay babe?”

Jake felt a lazy smile spread across his face. “Okay, I’ll be here.” Amy smiled at him as she got out of bed and walked toward their bathroom. Jake waited until he heard the water running consistently before he texted Gina. She agreed to meet him at one of the jewelry stores in the area the next day; Jake would just tell Amy that he and Gina were going out to lunch that day. It wasn’t a total lie; they could get lunch once they were finished ring shopping, right? Jake just hoped Amy would buy the story.

Just as he started thinking about what kind of ring would be perfect for Amy, the water turned off and she returned to the bedroom with a towel around her body and another one in her hair. On a normal day, Jake would make a joke about the unnecessary use of an extra towel (seriously, he did not understand why people felt they needed to use a whole separate towel for their hair), but today was not a normal day, so he just smiled at her.

The next day, just as Jake was about to tell Amy that he was leaving to go get lunch with Gina, he looked up from his phone to see her with car keys in hand, heading towards the door. “Where are you going, Ames?” he asked.

“I’m going grocery shopping, just like I do every week,” she replied slowly, giving him a puzzled look. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course, I’m totally fine,” Jake said quickly, hoping he covered well.

“Okay, well, I’m just getting the usual stuff, unless you want anything special.”

 _The usual stuff_. The fact that they had been together long enough and lived together long enough to have a weekly shopping list was still mind-blowing to Jake. Still, though, he had to ask. “Orange soda is on the list, right?”

Amy sighed, but Jake could see her smile, even as she tried very very hard to hide it from him. “Yes, babe, orange soda is on the list, just like it is every single week and has been since we moved in together.”

“Just checking, you know that.” He closed the distance between them and kissed Amy goodbye. “See you later, Ames.”

“See you, Jake. Don’t cause a total disaster today, okay?”

“I won’t,” Jake replied, sticking his tongue out at her. _Quite the opposite_ , he thought, waiting until her car was out of sight before he grabbed his own car keys and headed out the door. It was definitely good that he didn’t end up having to lie to his girlfriend because he definitely would not have been able to stop grinning like an idiot. Could he help it? No, he most definitely could not.

He’d told Gina he would meet her at the store at noon, and he arrived at 11:45. Before Amy, he usually showed up to things just barely on time or decently late, but spending so much time with her taught him how to be punctual. He’d retained her lessons well. Amy would be so proud of him.

Gina finally showed up at 12:10. “What took you so long, Gina?” Jake asked.

“I’ve known you since we were kids, Jake; I expected you to show up a half hour later than you said you would. I thought I was going to get here first.” She shook her head. “Damn, Amy really has changed you.”

“I know, isn’t it great?”

“Alright, Jake, let’s go inside.”

The bell tinkled as they walked into the jewelry store. “Hi, how can I help you?” the girl at the counter said.

“Hey, I’m looking for an engagement ring for my girlfriend,” Jake replied, bouncing on his toes with excitement.

“You came to buy an engagement ring with your girlfriend here?”

“What?” Jake asked, confused, as Gina sighed, clearly frustrated.

“Hell, no, this idiot is definitely not my boyfriend. Are you kidding me right now? I’m clearly too cool and beautiful for him,” Gina replied incredulous, crossing her arms.

“Don’t mind Gina,” Jake said to the startled store clerk. “She’s my childhood best friend. My girlfriend is out grocery shopping right now.”

The girl smiled, reaching under the glass counter for some of the trays on display. “Here are some of our more popular rings. Have a look at these, and let me know if you like anything or if you want to see some more rings.”

“Okay, thank you!” Jake started looking through the rings, but nothing really stood out to him as perfect for Amy. Sure, they were nice, but most of them were too big and too flashy for Amy. A ring like that would definitely get in the way of her police work, and she valued her job more than almost anything else. He looked through the rings for a couple more minutes before calling Gina over for help. “None of these would be good for Amy, right?”

Gina looked over the rings for a moment. “Well, none of them are shaped like a crossword puzzle, so no, none of them are good for Amy.”

“Gina, come on, be serious.” His smile betrayed him, but he still tried to make it clear to Gina that this was not the time for jokes.

“Alright, alright, tell that girl that you want to see a different tray.”

Jake and Gina were the only two customers in the store at the time, so the girl had busied herself by reorganizing one of the already beautiful display cases. “Um, excuse me?” Jake said.

The girl looked up with a smile. “Did you find a ring?”

“No, actually, I was wondering if I could see another tray.”

“Well, these are our most expensive rings, so any other rings I show you will be cheaper and might not be as fancy. Is that okay with you?”

“Wait, hold up,” Gina said before Jake could respond. “These are your most expensive rings? And you’re asking us if it’s okay if you show us cheaper rings?” She laughed dramatically. “Honey, Jake here is broke.”

“You didn’t have to say it that way,” Jake mumbled.

“What? It’s basically the truth. Anyway, please show us some cheaper rings. Please. Thank you.” Gina finished, turning to Jake as the store clerk walked into the back room to find another tray. “Why would she start with the most expensive rings? Who does she think we are, Beyoncé?”

Jake shrugged. “Good thing Amy’s not the flashy ring type. My bank account is sighing with relief.” The girl returned with another tray of rings, this one significantly less flashy. Jake thanked her, and began looking through the selection. Most were very simple, with smooth gold or silver bands and small stones. As he kept looking through the rings with no success, he began to feel nervous. What if he never found the perfect ring and never proposed?

Then, as if she had read his mind, Gina patted his shoulder. “Jake,” she began, no traces of a joke on her face. “Relax. You will find the perfect ring. It might not be in this store, but you will find it.”

“How did you know exactly what I was thinking?” Jake asked, continuing to look through the rings as he spoke.

“I’m very good at reading people, Jake. I can always tell what people are thinking.”

“Sure you can, Gina.”

That was when he saw it. It was at the very bottom of the tray, the band lying against the worn dark red material that lined the tray. The ring was simple but not too much so, bright and sparkly enough to be seen and noticed, but not too much that it would seem like showing off. It was the Amy of rings, and it was perfect. “Oh my God,” he breathed, quietly enough that only he could hear himself.

“I can Jake,” Gina replied, snapping Jake back to reality; Jake had almost forgotten that Gina was even there. “For instance, I can tell just from looking at you that you just found the perfect ring for Amy.”

Jake grinned, nodding, not even bothering to point out that it had been completely obvious and that anyone could have figured that out just by looking at him. He carefully lifted the ring out from the tray and got the girl’s attention again. “This is the one,” he said, holding it up so she could see which ring he was talking about.

The girl looked at the ring, and frowned. “Oh, that ring shouldn’t have been in that tray. It belongs in one of the other trays with more expensive rings.”

Jake’s face fell. “It’s less expensive than that first tray still, though, right?” The girl nodded. Jake turned to Gina. “Gina, what do I do?”

“Well, how perfect do you think this ring is? Do you think it’s worth the money?”

Jake swallowed and nodded. “Definitely. This is the perfect ring. I can’t imagine proposing to her without it.”

“So buy it, Jake! What are you waiting for?”

“Okay!” Jake turned to the shop clerk. “I’ll take it,” he said.

“Great! Give me one second and I will grab a ring box for you.” She returned a moment later with a box, taking the ring from Jake and gently placing it into the box.

The girl moved over to the register, and Jake and Gina followed. When the girl showed him the final price, Jake’s heart pounded, whether out of excitement for his future with Amy or out of fear for his financial situation, he had no idea. It was probably both, to be honest. He handed the girl his credit card, and she completed the transaction for him. “Thank you so much for your help!” Jake said to the girl, heading towards the door of the jewelry store.

“No problem! Have a nice day!” she replied.

“You too!”

Jake was grinning as he and Gina left. He wanted so badly to take the ring out and look at it again, but he didn’t want to risk dropping it like he had dropped the ring for the Boyle-Linetti wedding while arresting Amy’s perp in that alley. He thought back to when she fake proposed to him, still before they were dating, and he just couldn’t believe he was going to propose to her for real.

Jake Peralta was the happiest he’d ever been.

And then Melanie Hawkins brought his whole world crashing down.

Jake still could not believe how wrong he and Rosa had been about her. They looked up to her, and she’d repaid them by framing them and, if they couldn’t prove their innocence, ruining their lives.

 _I guess that’s why they say to never meet your heroes because they’ll disappoint you_ , Jake thought. _Disappoint. What an understatement._

It wasn’t very long after Jake had bought the ring. He still hadn’t had a proposal plan set in stone, but he did have a very large document on his computer with a list of possible ideas. He trusted Amy not to snoop into his laptop, but still, he named it “Die Hard Theories” just to be safe. Once there was the prospect of jail ahead of him, Jake put proposal planning on hold, because if he went to jail, there wouldn’t be a proposal, not for another fifteen years.

When he and Rosa were found guilty and officially received their fifteen year prison sentence, so many thoughts and fears ran through Jake’s head, but the most prominent one was the fact that he’d be separated from Amy and his family at the Nine-Nine for a long time. This wasn’t the first time this thought had entered his mind, but he’d always pushed it out of his mind, telling himself they would figure something out, that they would prove that Melanie was really behind all of this before the end of the trial. Of course, it didn’t work out that way, and now, Jake had to face the reality of his situation.

He was allowed to see Amy one last time before he was taken away to prison in South Carolina. The officials watching him almost didn’t let him see her because she wasn’t an official member of his family (yet), but he begged, saying that she and the rest of the Nine-Nine were like his family. Jake was ready to tell them that he was planning on proposing to her if that would persuade them to let him see her, but they relented before it got to that.

Amy had spent most of the allotted time crying in his arms, and the rest of it she spent telling him how much she loved him and that she would do anything to get him and Rosa out of prison. Jake mostly just listened, because he knew if he even tried to say anything, he would lose it, too, and he wanted to appear as tough as possible, more for the guards than for Amy, to be honest. He wasn’t embarrassed to cry in front of her anymore.

It wasn’t until he reached his jail cell and the guard shut the gate behind him that Jake broke down and cried. He hung up the photos that he’d been allowed to bring with him, and just stared at Amy’s face for a while, closing his eyes, trying his best to imagine being back in Brooklyn with her. But no matter how much he wished he could be there, he was stuck in prison. And it was horrible. After spending such a long time sending people to prison, experiencing the results of his job was a terrifyingly enlightening experience.

As soon as he learned that he could see Amy every three weeks, counting down the days got him through every day he spent in the cold, dark cell. But after a while, even that wasn’t enough. Eventually, he realized that since he had so much time alone with his thoughts, he might as well be productive with them instead of just reminding himself of what he didn’t have. This was the perfect time to plan his proposal so that when he was released, whether that be in fifteen weeks or fifteen years, he’d have the proposal pretty much ready to go. He thought back to the list of proposal ideas on his computer, running through all of the ones that he could remember, but as good as they were, none of them felt right.

So one night, while Jake was trying and failing to fall asleep on the mattress on the bottom of the bunk bed that he shared with his cell mate which was somehow worse than the mattress he used to have before he got a new one, he began planning the perfect proposal. The first thing he had to figure out was when he would propose. Since he obviously didn’t know when he was going to be released, he couldn’t decide for sure, but he figured he could start with a day that was important to the two of them. The first date that came to mind was, of course, January 14, the night that Jake took Amy on the worst date of her life which ended with them throwing nuts in each other’s mouths, faking a fight, and arresting two guys. Jake still held it over Amy’s head that she was wrong when she said that not falling in love with him “won’t be a problem”. But no, as special as that day was, it was the way too obvious choice, as was their dating anniversary a little over a year later.

Jake then thought about the things that Amy loved, hoping that something in there would lead to a perfect idea. _Binders, working at the Nine-Nine, Captain Holt, proving herself, crossword puzzles, competitions…_ Jake gasped and grinned. _Halloween_ , he thought.

It really was perfect. If he planned everything right, she wouldn’t suspect a thing. It was a significant date for the precinct, but not for their relationship, and since the annual heist was a huge competition, she’d be so focused on that and wouldn’t think about anything else. And since they both loved competitions and took them very seriously, proposing as part of one was just perfect.

 _If only I could have paper to write all of this down_ , Jake thought. Hopefully he could trust his memory to hold onto these plans until he was released from prison. He finally drifted off to sleep, the beginnings of the proposal plans leaving a smile on his face.

Jake spent the next few days looking forward to the time he got to spend alone with his thoughts because for the first time since he left Brooklyn, he had something positive to think about and work toward. Even though the Halloween Heist had originated as something that just he and Captain Holt participated in, in the few years since, almost everyone in the precinct had gotten involved in it somehow, and as such, Jake needed to meticulously plan for every scenario, because if he didn’t, the proposal wouldn’t work.

They’d decided at the end of last Halloween that they’d use a belt for the next heist, and they’d already placed the order for it in preparation for the big day. He already knew that he would change the belt’s inscription so that what once read “Amazing Human / Genius” would say, “Amy Santiago, will you marry me?” instead. He’d have to order a second belt to make his idea work. It would have to be an exact replacement; Jake was a detective that worked in a precinct full of other good detectives, so someone (most likely Captain Holt) would immediately notice if the object had been replaced during the heist. Jake had to make sure no one did.

But that, of course, could be figured out later. First, Jake had to decide where in the precinct he would actually propose to Amy. He didn’t want it to be in front of everyone, because as fun as that would be, he didn’t want anyone (namely, Boyle), to ruin it. He and Amy would tell everyone else after she said yes. If she said yes. Gosh, he really hoped she would.

 _Come on, Jake_ , he thought to himself. _Focus._

There were quite a few rooms in the precinct, but not many that weren’t visible from the bullpen. They all had some kind of significance to Jake and Amy; they’d spent many long hours in the precinct late at night finishing up paperwork for a case, so they had more memories than they could count, even more since they started dating. Then it hit him: there was one room that had more significance to them than any other room in the precinct, and it was way out of view of the bullpen. The evidence locker, the location of their first kiss and their temporary makeout location during the days of Captain Dozerman, was the perfect place for the proposal. It also helped that it was a perfect place to hide the belt, which could definitely help with getting her into the room.

The hardest part to figure out would for sure be fooling everyone else into staying mostly out of his way and fitting into his plan without them knowing what was really going on. Hopefully, he could influence everyone to allow alliances, because he definitely couldn’t pull it off on his own. He’d work with Charles, of course, and bring Bill back again to act as Charles if necessary. They’d definitely have to discuss a plan in advance, but Jake would do his best to figure out a much of it as possible before then. He had lots of time on his hands, after all.

The belt would be somewhere in the precinct in an open location where anyone could access it, so Jake had to find a way to get it without anyone seeing while everyone was still in the room so no one would have any idea who had taken it. He gasped again. _Gina!_ he thought. Gina was still on maternity leave after having Enigma a couple months earlier, so as long as he made it out of prison in the near future, he’d be able to use that to trick everyone into thinking Gina was behind it all. If she came back by the time Jake was released, well, he’d have to figure something else out.

He had a lot of faith in Amy and the rest of the squad to get him and Rosa back to the precinct as soon as possible. They were some of the best detectives, with the obvious exceptions of Hitchcock and Scully, he ever knew, and they would do anything and everything they could to solve the case and prove their innocence. But unfortunately for them, there was a lot riding on them now, because in an instant, Jake had a plan formulated to gain control of the belt within the first couple of minutes of the heist that depended completely on Gina’s maternity leave.

After that, though, there were too many unknowns to formulate a strong plan to keep control of the belt. He’d have to figure it out on the spot. Thank goodness he’d have Charles to help him out.

Sometime at the end of the heist, in the last little bit of time before the clock struck midnight on November 1st, Jake would sneak into the evidence locker with the replacement belt and place it in a box, deliberately making sure the dust pattern was just slightly different so Amy would notice it, but someone else wouldn’t. He’d somehow have to send everyone else on a wild goose chase in the other direction so they wouldn’t find him or the object in the evidence locker… Jake laughed at himself as he thought of the perfect plan: feeding a GPS tracker to Terry in a container of yogurt. Hopefully, Amy would realize that the signal was just a diversion and would follow him to the evidence locker. If not, well… No. She would.

 _Gosh, I could really use some paper and a pencil!_ Jake thought again. _Honestly, I will never take such basic privileges for granted ever again._

By the time Jake was released from prison, his plans were almost completely flawless, as they had to be for Amy Santiago, the most flawless person he knew. As soon as he got home to the apartment they shared, he typed his entire plan into a blank document; that is, he typed it up after he and Amy spent time together talking, catching up on everything that had happened in the time he had been gone. When he finished, he closed the laptop gently, warmth spreading through his chest. _All that’s left to do now is_ plan _with Charles and call Amy’s dad so that he knows I’m proposing_ , Jake thought. _But I don’t care what he says, I am not letting him stop me from proposing to Amy. This is 2017, and it’s her decision._

When the morning of October 31 arrived, everything was set. Jake was ready, at least, he hoped.

 _Beep, beep, beep, beep._ Jake reached over and shut the alarm off, ignoring the snooze button for the first time that he could remember. The bright red numbers on the alarm clock displayed “three o’clock”, but while he would usually be groaning and complaining about waking up, today he just smiled. “Halloween,” he whispered to himself, a sinister laugh following his words. “It’s heist time.”

With the blankets still covering his body, he flipped over to face his sleeping girlfriend, but, to his surprise, he found her wide awake. But really, he should have expected that. This was Amy he was talking about. If he was waking up early for the heist, then she would wake up even earlier. As much as she loved him and he loved her, they both took competitions very seriously, starting all the way back when they had an ongoing bet to see who could arrest more perps. Jake had won, which caused them to end up dating just a couple years later, but they had never stopped competing with each other. And they’d become both better detectives and better to each other as a result.

“Gah!” Jake exclaimed when he saw Amy lying there, facing him, her head supported by her elbow against the pillow.

“Thought you could get a head start on heist prep?” Amy asked. “Good luck.” She flipped the covers off of her body, revealing her work clothes. “I’m already dressed.”

“Well,” Jake replied, sitting up. “I’m also dressed. And, I made breakfast.” He flipped the covers, expecting to find the full plate of eggs that he’d made the night before lying between them, but instead, all that was left was a white plate with a yellow smear across it and a fork. “Wait, where are my eggs?” he asked, his voice softening.

“In my belly,” a deep voice answered from across the room. The lights flickered on, revealing Captain Holt sitting in a chair across from the bed.

“Aah!” Jake and Amy exclaimed in unison, this time both shocked.

“Now get a move on,” Captain Holt continued as if it was completely normal for him to be sitting in his employees’ bedroom. “It’s heist time.”

“I love Halloween!” Jake replied. He jumped out of bed, leaving the empty plate behind (he could wash it later, there were more important things to worry about) and pulling on his shoes as he grabbed his car keys off of their hook by the door. He was out the door first, Amy and Holt close behind. Heart pounding, Jake unlocked his car, jumped into the front seat, clicked his seatbelt into place, and pulled out of the parking space, heading towards the precinct.

It really didn’t matter who ended up at work first, he realized as he drove, leaning back against the seat with one hand on the wheel. At the end of the day, Amy would have the belt and he’d be on one knee holding the ring box out to her. And besides, the heist wouldn’t start until everyone was there anyway. But still. Jake was proud of the fact that he actually managed to beat Amy Santiago out of the apartment that morning.

Once everyone had arrived at work for the day, Captain Holt called everyone into the briefing room. On a normal day, this would entail updates on everyone’s cases, information on new cases, and anything else important enough for everyone to discuss. Today, though, the safety of Brooklyn was not the top priority in the ninety-ninth precinct, although the commissioner sure as hell did not need to know that. That day, the only thing anyone in the precinct could think about was the Halloween Heist.

Everyone gathered excitedly in the briefing room, Jake, Amy, and Captain Holt, as the past champions, standing at the front of the room with everyone else sitting in the seats. With Amy on his left and Captain Holt on his right, Jake stood in front of the podium, leaning forwards a little bit while holding on to the sides. Once everyone was quiet, he began the speech he’d been working on for months.

“Some of you have asked me what got me through prison,” he began. “Was it my family? Don’t be stupid. Was it knowing that my friends would eventually get me out? Of course not, I never believed in any of you.” Jake looked around the room at his fellow detectives; his eyes rested on Rosa for a moment, leaning back in her chair with her feet on the desk, as she blinked slowly, sighing softly to herself.

“No, the only thing that kept me sane was planning for the Halloween Heist those many years doing hard time.” (Okay, sure, he was being dramatic, but it was Halloween, and at least was he was saying was partially true. Planning for this heist, specifically the proposal aspect of it, did get him through prison.)

“It was eight weeks,” Terry said.

“I also went to prison, dawg,” Rosa added.

“We’re getting off track here,” Jake said quickly, restoring the attention of the squad before he lost the effect of his dramatic speech.

“No we’re not, dawg,” Captain Holt interjected, ruining any chance Jake had of salvaging his command of the podium. (Also, did he really just say dawg?) “Peralta’s just trying to play the sympathy card so we all go easy on him. I’d rather send you back to prison than see you win.” Rosa had to hold back a laugh.

“Mmkay,” Jake said, trying not to think about the possibility of going back to prison. (That wasn’t possible, right? Right?) He decided it was best to just continue instead of responding. “This year we compete for the most elegant and regal of all prizes,” he began as Captain Holt picked up the prize he, Jake, Amy, and Gina had chosen last year as the past winners of the heist.

“A championship cummerbund!” Captain Holt proclaimed, holding it up and showing off the shiny gold plate on the front of it.

“Or belt, as normal people call it,” Jake muttered.

“Belt,” Captain Holt scoffed. “I’d like to see the pair of slacks whose loops are large enough for _this_ belt. No, it is a _cummerbund_!”

“Well, whatever it is —”

“Cummerbund,” Captain Holt interjected.

“ — it’s inscribed with the words, ‘Amazing Human Slash Genius’,” Jake finished, Holt pointing to the words on the belt’s plate as Jake read them. “The objective is to have it in your possession at midnight.” Which, of course, he would. But they didn’t need to know that.

“This year,” Amy said, speaking for the first time that briefing, “the competition is not limited to winners of the past heists.”

“That’s right, any man, or woman, hashtag ‘resist’, can enter. It’s open to everyone.” Did he have to add in something feminist? No. But did he take the chance anyway? Absolutely. He was a huge feminist, and always had been, long before he met Amy. And yeah, Amy loved when he said stuff like that. But that wasn’t the reason he’d mentioned it during his heist speech. At least, not the only reason.

“Ooh, every man for himself!” Boyle said. “It’s like _Bachelor in Paradise_.” Of course.

“It’s really cool that you guys opened it up to anyone,” Rosa said, her sarcasm lost on Jake.

“Oh thanks, yeah we talked about it and we just felt like it was only fair —”

“I was being sarcastic. You all suck and I hope Jake goes back to jail.”

“Oh, cool, I’m glad everyone feels comfortable joking about that.”

“Not joking.”

“Insult me all you want,” Jake continued. “For I have only this to say: Victory shall be mine!” He pointed his finger at the rest of the precinct sitting in front of him, looking over at Amy in surprise when he realized he wasn’t the only one saying what he hoped would be an epic line.

“I heard you practicing in the shower,” Amy said before Jake could say anything more. “You can’t surprise me. Letting me into your life was the worst mistake you ever made!”

Jake gulped. “Cool, fun take on our relationship.” He grinned nervously.

“Well I, for one, think you’re perfect for each other,” Captain Holt began.

“I feel like there’s going to be more,” Jake mumbled, turning to face the captain.

“Because you’re both losers!” the captain exclaimed.

“There it is.”

“None of you stand a chance against me,” he continued. “No courage.” He gestured at Boyle. “No patience.” Rosa. “No brains.” Hitchcock and Scully, who turned to look behind them, not realizing that the captain was pointing at them. “And, of course, a bald, old man.” Terry.

“I’m younger than you!” Terry replied.

“No comeback for the bald thing, I see.”

“Yeah, I’m not doing the heist. I’m out,” Terry said definitively.

Everyone immediately started laughing. “Right, just like you were out last year,” Jake challenged.

“I was out last year!”

“As a setup for this year.”

“You’re good, Jeffords, but not good enough,” Captain Holt said. “In fact, you’re an idiot. I should have fired you long ago.”

_“What?”_

“Relax, Terry, chill out, get your undies out of your buns,” Jake joked, trying to focus back on starting the heist. “Now if everyone would rise, rise like the army of the dead, and follow me into the bullpen of destiny,” he finished dramatically, arms out in front of him, palms up, inviting the squad to follow him.

They did. Once they all gathered in the bullpen, the belt was hung on a hook in the ceiling so that it would begin in plain sight instead of inside a locked box or something like that. Jake let Amy do the honors, and she had that adorable smile spread across her face that only presented itself while they were watching Jeopardy! or competing for something. It took all of Jake’s will not to just drop down on one knee and propose right there and then. Instead, he took a deep breath and let a grin spread across his own face because the ultimate proposal plan was about to begin.

As Amy carefully placed the belt on the hook, Jake silently counted down in his head, because he knew that in any moment Charles would turn off the lights and Bill would sneak through the ceiling tile and steal the belt before the lights came back on. He held his breath in anticipation while also somehow trying to look as natural as possible so no one would suspect anything of him. It worked, and Jake played along perfectly, pretending that he had no idea what was going on and that he was mad at Gina for ruining his heist plans. No one suspected a thing.

When Jake and Charles met up in one of the small storage rooms a few minutes later with useless baby toys that, in fact, held no clues at all, his adrenaline was flowing like it only did when he was chasing a really dangerous perp. And it made sense, after all. There was nothing in the world he loved as much as Amy and his job. Oh yeah, and _Die Hard_. How could he ever forget about _Die Hard_?

Jake was about to take the belt from Charles and keep it hidden as long as he could, wishing that it was midnight so that he could propose already, but then the cold, hard metal of handcuffs stole him away from what he hoped would be his future and brought him back to reality. Jake looked down at the handcuffs now locking him to one of the file cabinets against the wall, and then looked back up at Charles in shock. Of course, the one time he actually decided to betray Jake was the one time Jake needed him the most.

Telling Charles that this year’s heist was just too important didn’t persuade him to uncuff him, which Jake should have expected, so for a moment he considered just telling Charles the truth about what he was planning. But after a moment’s thought, he knew he couldn’t. If the proposal didn’t end up being a surprise, he’d never forgive himself. He only had one shot at this, and there was no way in hell he was going to screw it up. And besides, Charles had already left the room, and Jake was alone with Bill.

When he saw Amy walking outside the door to the room he was in, he called out to her, hoping she would be able to hear him through the closed door. She did, and walked inside. She was full of confidence, and Jake couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He wished he could make out with her right then and there, but there was no time for making out in the middle of a heist with stakes this high. And besides, he was stuck. They teased each other for a bit, but before long Amy left to continue carrying out her heist plans, and Jake still had no way to escape.

Finally, he turned to his last resort.

After promising Bill $8,000 that he didn’t have, Jake caught Boyle off guard and cuffed him to the very same file cabinet that he had just been cuffed to. He rushed out of the room and to the security monitors. All that was left to do was to find the belt, take it, switch it with the one he was using to propose to Amy, and trick everyone into following the real belt on a wild goose chase while also convincing Amy that the belt was still in the precinct. He wanted to make sure everyone was out of his way while he was hiding the belt for Amy to find so he could propose, and this was the best way he could think of to get everyone out of the precinct. He knew as soon as he saw Captain Holt walking with a dog that looked a lot like Cheddar but clearly wasn’t that he’d tried to use Cheddar to steal the belt, but that someone else had beaten him to it.

And then he saw Amy sneeze, and he knew exactly what had happened.

“Bingpot.”

Jake called Bill and came up with a plan: they’d find people to dress up as handmaids from _The Handmaid’s Tale_ , one of the shows Amy had loved recently, so that the whole precinct would think Amy was behind it. Then, Jake would pretend to steal the key to her safe while Bill would steal her safe and replace it with an empty one. Bill would break into the safe and take the modified belt to the evidence room, where he would leave it in one of the boxes and take the real belt with the tracker on it with him. Jake made sure to tell him to make sure the dust was different on that particular box because he was sure Amy would notice it. Bill, who of course didn’t know what Jake was really planning, looked a little puzzled, but thankfully didn’t question it.

Jake allowed himself a huge grin for a moment, then put his competitive face on. It was go time.

Thankfully, everything went according to plan. The safes were switched, Jake fooled everyone into thinking that someone had taken the belt from Amy’s safe, and everyone followed Terry on a wild goose chase for the belt. Once everyone except Amy had left the precinct, Jake headed straight to the evidence room to make sure everything was in order before Amy arrived. His heart was pounding right out of his chest, and he could barely catch his breath, still in disbelief about what was about to happen.

Everything was going to change, and yet, it would be just as it always had been. Jake and Amy, Amy and Jake, the two best detectives in the precinct, colleagues, best friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, and, soon enough, husband and wife. _Husband and wife_ , Jake thought, warmth filling his heart and a grin splitting his face in two.

Jake opened the door to the evidence room and walked inside, closing the door quickly behind him.

“Hello, Jacob.”

“Gah!” Jake exclaimed, spinning around in surprise. “Wha… Ames, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you out looking for the belt?” he said quickly, hoping his nerves didn’t reveal themselves too much.

“You and I both know the belt never left the precinct,” Amy said, hands on her hips and a smug look on her face.

“I don’t know that. Nobody knows that.”

“I kept thinking, how did anyone swap my key? And then it hit me, they didn’t. They swapped the safe,” Amy continued as if Jake hadn’t spoken at all. “One of the handmaids, I’m assuming fake Charles, took my safe, and then Of Amy deposited a look-alike. What did you give fake Charles so he’d help you?”

“Nothing, in fact, he gave me something: the power of financial freedom.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “I invested in a pyramid scheme. There’s no time to go into it right now.”

“Okay,” Amy said, with that adorably confused look on her face. He really hoped he could find a way out of those sketchy NutriBoom contracts, though, because something told him the look on her face wouldn’t be so adorable anymore once she found out the details. “So, while we all tried to figure out who had the real key, fake Charles broke into the safe, removed the tracker, and led Terry and the squad on a wild goose chase. My only question is, which box is the belt in?”

 _This is it_ , Jake thought. _She’ll discover it for herself, you know she will. Just play along._ “Well, good luck figuring it out because the clock is tick, tick, tocking.”

“It’s that one!” Amy exclaimed, pointing to a box on a nearby shelf.

“No!” Jake said out loud, while inside he was sighing with relief and screaming with excitement. It was quite a strange mix of emotions.

“The dust pattern on top doesn’t match its neighbors,” Amy replied, the smugness evident in her voice. Jake was mentally patting himself on the back. “You see, Jake? I’m always going to be one step ahead of you. You’ve lost the ability to surprise me! Ya just plain _boring_.”

“Again, weird take on our very loving relationship,” Jake replied quietly.

“And it’s midnight, so I guess _I’m_ an amazing human slash genius,” Amy said, lifting the belt out of the box. Jake’s breath caught in his throat when he saw what was written on it, and his heart pounded even more, if that was even possible. How did Amy not notice it?

“Yeah. Although,” Jake swallowed, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves before continuing with the words that would set the proposal into motion, “you might want to read the inscription on that there belt.” He couldn’t help but smile despite the nerves written all over his face.

“Why? Oh no, what does it say?” Amy turned back to the belt, finally looking at the front of it. “Amy Santiago, will you marry… me?” she read as Jake slowly got down on one knee, reaching into his pocket for the ring box and opening it.

She turned around to face him, and the shock was evident all over her beautiful face. “Surprise,” he said simply, grinning. He relished in the fact that he actually managed to surprise her for only a moment before refocusing on the fact that ohmygodhewas _proposing_.

“I’m so confused,” she said, her hands still holding the belt and her chest rising and falling with her deep breaths. “I don’t know what’s happening right now.”

“I’m so confused, I don’t know what’s happening right now: title of your sex tape,” Jake said immediately, reflexes and sense of humor taking over for a moment.

Amy let out a huge breath. “Oh my God, I’m shaking, I’m definitely going to cry.” She paused. “Title of your sex tape,” she added. Jake nodded, too in love with her to realize that he’d just agreed with a _negative_ sex tape title. Maybe she was right after all. Love had made him dumb.

“Wait.” Jake looked up at her. “Is this really happening? Is this part of the heist? If this is part of the heist, I will dump you _so hard_ ,” Amy said, lifting her hands off of the belt to emphasize how serious she was.

 _How did I not think of this possibility? I should have known she’d be suspicious of that._ He took one hand off of the ring box, attempting to wave away any doubts in Amy’s mind that this was all a trick just to win the heist. “No! Please, Ames, look, it’s really happening, okay? It’s not part of the heist, I promise. This is real.” He returned his hand to the ring box.

“It is?” Amy asked, and Jake sighed with relief. She believed him.

“Yeah.” Jake took a deep breath, suddenly realizing that in all of the planning he did for this moment, he’d somehow forgotten to actually write a proposal speech. He’d just have to speak from the heart and hope that that would somehow be enough. “Okay, here goes.”

“Ames, I love you,” he began. “I love how smart you are, I love how beautiful you are, I love your face, and I love your butt.” He cringed at himself. “I should have written this down first,” he admitted.

“No, no, it’s okay, go on,” Amy replied, tears threatening to fall and a grin forming on her lips.

“I love,” he paused, “how much you pretend to like _Die Hard_.”

“I like the second one!”

“You don’t have to.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah,” Jake replied before launching back into his proposal speech, or whatever this was. “You’re kind and you’re funny,” he felt tears forming in his own eyes, “and you’re the best person I know. And,” he paused, taking a deep breath before his next words. If someone had told him four years ago that he was admitting this, he would have probably passed out in shock. “The best detective.” He paused again, pressing his lips together. “Also for realz, I love your butt.”

“I love yours, too,” Amy replied.

“Gross.” Amy let out a small laugh.

“Amy Santiago, will you marry me?” Jake asked, hoping that this, all of this, everything he had ever said to her and done for her, would be enough.

“Jake Peralta,” he could barely hear her over his own heartbeat, but he focused completely on her and her voice, “I will marry you.”

Jake grinned some more and stood up, breathing a huge sigh of relief. Amy held out her left hand, and Jake slipped the ring onto her ring finger. She kissed him with more passion and love than she ever had before, her left hand (with the ring on it!!) on his cheek and her right arm wrapped around his neck. His hands rested on her waist, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

They broke apart with an audible breath, Amy’s hands slipping farther down Jake’s face, and Jake’s hands on Amy’s shoulders. He just could not stop looking at her.

The best part of the whole thing was watching Boyle pass out from shock. Or maybe it was happiness. Either way, it was absolutely hilarious.

Sure, no one had really won the heist this year, but to Jake, it was love that emerged victorious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I have yet to read The Handmaid's Tale, so if I misspelled or miswrote "Of Amy", I apologize.  
> 2\. This started with just adding backstory to what already existed in the episode and then somehow became this. I didn't intend for it to be this long, but I'm sure as heck not sorry about it : )  
> 3\. The Gina lines are even better if you can imagine them in her voice. I am in awe of her.  
> 4\. This is my first post to AO3, so any kudos, comments, bookmarks, etc. are very much appreciated!!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this not-so-little thing, and if you have any requests for future fics, whether for Brooklyn Nine-Nine or any other fandom I'm a part of, send me an ask on [ tumblr](http://justwannabeafangirl.tumblr.com)


	2. amy

If you had told Amy Santiago eight years ago that she would be engaged ( _engaged!!_ ) to Jake Peralta, her goofy partner from the Nine-Nine, she would have given you a confused look and probably told you that you were absolutely insane.

 

And yet, here she was. At Shaw’s. With the Nine-Nine. With Jake’s arm around her shoulders. And a _ring_ on her left ring finger.

 

Amy had never been as happy as she was right then, in that moment.

 

It had all started that morning. It was the precinct’s fifth annual Halloween Heist, and she had been planning for this day since the second she got home from Shaw’s after the last Halloween Heist had ended. This was the first Halloween since she and Jake had moved in together, so she used her newfound proximity to him to try and figure out what he was planning. And boy, had it worked! Jake had no idea how much he accidentally revealed when he was showering or when he talked in his sleep. (And Amy wasn’t afraid to admit that it was pretty freaking adorable, too.)

 

Amy had seen Jake set his alarm for three o’clock in the morning, so she set hers for even earlier. She woke up at two, got ready as quickly and quietly as humanly possible, and lay back in bed, facing Jake, anticipating the moment when he woke up and saw her already awake. This competition meant a lot to them, and since they were both tied with one win each, Amy was determined to anticipate Jake’s (and everyone else’s) every move. She vowed that not a single thing about this heist would surprise her.

 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she heard the _beep, beep, beep, beep_ of Jake’s alarm clock and saw him roll over to turn it off. _He didn’t even hit snooze!_ Amy thought. She didn’t have time to ponder this huge change in Jake’s behavior because she had to focus if she wanted to stay ahead. She patiently lay there waiting for him to turn around and see her. And then he did, and he was surprised, just as Amy knew he would be.

 

“Gah!” Jake exclaimed, Amy resisting the strong desire to kiss him as they did every morning choosing to tease him instead. There was no room for cheesiness on a day like today. Today, they weren’t Jake and Amy, boyfriend and girlfriend. They were Jake and Amy, competitors, and if he stood in her way, she would take him down as if he was her worst enemy.

 

It was all in good fun. As soon as the heist was over, though, she couldn’t guarantee her ability to keep her lips (and her hands, for that matter), off of Jake.

 

“Thought you could get a head start on heist prep?” Amy asked. “Good luck.” She flipped the covers off of her body, revealing her work clothes. “I’m already dressed.” She glanced down and cringed at the slight wrinkles in her clothes from lying in bed with them on. Smoothing the wrinkles out as much as she could, she glanced back up at Jake, restoring her smirk. Amy Santiago could show no weakness.

 

“Well,” Jake replied, sitting up. “I’m also dressed. And, I made breakfast.” Amy was impressed. She hadn’t heard him in the kitchen or seen any evidence that he’d been there last night or that morning. He must have snuck in after she went to sleep. “Wait, where are my eggs?” he asked after moving the covers back some more to reveal the empty plate that once held his breakfast.

 

“In my belly,” a deep voice answered from across the room. The lights flickered on, revealing Captain Holt sitting in a chair across from the bed. Sure, Amy had given him a key to her and Jake’s apartment just in case of an emergency, but she didn’t expect him to actually use it. Her first reaction was one of total shock, but she honestly wasn’t sure if she was more surprised or pleased.

 

“Aah!” Jake and Amy exclaimed in unison.

 

“Now get a move on,” Captain Holt said, unfazed by their reaction. “It’s heist time.”

 

“I love Halloween!” Jake replied. Amy, who only a few years earlier would never have thought she could ever feel this way (but then again, a lot had changed since she’d fallen in love with Jake), agreed.

 

Somehow, Jake managed to beat her out of their bed, and she scrambled to catch up. There was no way Amy was going to let him beat her to the precinct. It had never happened before, and there was no reason for Amy to believe it would happen now. She quickly grabbed the breakfast she’d made (ordered) for herself and the bag she’d packed in advance the night before like she did every day, but when she reached the front door, she saw only one set of keys on the hook instead of the two she normally saw. Jake had managed to beat her out the door.

 

Amy didn’t let it bother her. She grabbed her own keys and walked quickly out of the building and to her car, Holt’s footsteps not far behind her. As she got into her car, it occurred to her that since she hadn’t been the last one out the door, she didn’t know if the door was locked. She froze with her hand on the car keys in the keyhole, about to turn the car on. _Should I go back and look?_ she thought, every worst case scenario she could ever think of popping into her head. Then she shook her head to herself, her grip on the keys tightening with resolve. _No. This is the Halloween Heist, and there is no time to waste._ Besides, Captain Holt would never leave somewhere without making sure the door was locked, especially if it was someone else’s apartment.

 

_Snap out of this, Amy, this is your year._ She grinned as she pulled out into traffic.

 

Once she arrived at the precinct, Captain Holt a few steps behind her, the entire squad went into the briefing room to start the heist. She joined Jake and Captain Holt at the front of the room while everyone settled into the seats. Amy glanced over at Jake as he launched into the speech he’d been preparing for months; he always practiced when he thought she couldn’t hear him, but he always got so into it that he recited it much more loudly than he intended and Amy heard him every time. She held back a smirk as she waited for the right moment to startle Jake.

 

“This year, the competition is not limited to winners of the past heists,” Amy said, finally finding a break in his speech where she could contribute something.

 

“That’s right, any man, or woman, hashtag ‘resist’, can enter. It’s open to everyone,” Jake said, picking right back up where he left off. Amy’s smirk slipped for a moment, revealing a genuine smile. Somehow, Jake was almost as big of a feminist as she was, and she was a huge feminist. It was one of the many reasons she fell in love with him. He’d even surprised her in January and took her to the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. It was one of the most incredible days of her life.

 

“For I have only this to say,” Jake said, snapping her out of her daydreams, and Amy knew this was her moment.

 

“Victory shall be mine!” she said along with him, and the look on his face was priceless. “I heard you practicing in the shower. You can’t surprise me. Letting me into your life was the worst mistake you ever made!”

 

Fear spiked through Jake’s features for a moment before they settled on nervous. “Cool, fun take on our relationship,” he said.

 

Eventually, they left the briefing room and moved into the bullpen to officially start the heist. Jake left the honor of hanging the belt on the hook to Amy, and she took it seriously, gently setting it in place. As she did so, she carefully attached a tracking device to the back of the belt. As a seasoned detective, she, of course, had a lot of experience with hiding tracking devices and bugs on various items in plain sight, so she wasn’t worried at all about anyone noticing. And, sure enough, no one did.

 

Just as Captain Holt officially began the heist, the lights went out. To her annoyance, Amy was completely surprised, and she had no idea what was going on or what to do next to maintain the upper edge in this competition. She bit her lip in frustration, almost hard enough to split it, and when the lights turned back on, she cursed under her breath in Spanish, words that she’d heard her parents use many times throughout her childhood when they thought she couldn’t hear them, because the belt was gone.

 

Suddenly, a figure wearing a wolf mask appeared on the computer screen, claiming to be Gina and that she had stolen the belt. Amy went along with it for show, but she could immediately tell that it wasn’t Gina. First of all, “Gina” was sitting in a room that she immediately recognized as one of the precinct’s storage rooms, and she knew for a fact that Gina hadn’t come anywhere near the precinct since her daughter Enigma was born. She also knew Gina well enough by then to recognize her unique speech patterns, and while whoever this was came pretty close, it wasn’t close enough to fool Amy.

 

When Jake and the rest of the precinct ran toward Gina’s desk to grab some of the baby toys she’d supposedly left there to find some clues, she followed so she wouldn’t alert anyone else to the truth. Once all of the toys were gone, she pretended to be disappointed, but she couldn’t have cared less. She had to find the belt. She hid in an empty room for a moment and pulled out her phone, opening the app she used to connect to the tracker. It was flashing inside one of the storage rooms, most likely the same one that had been in the background of “Gina’s” video. She shoved her phone back into her pocket and glanced out the door to make sure the coast was clear before speed walking to the storage room. It took a lot of self control not to run at top speed, but she knew that if she did, someone would notice.

 

_Deep breaths, Amy_ , she thought to herself. _Focus. You’ll find the belt. You’ve got this._

 

Amy was so focused that she almost walked past the very storage room she was looking for. It was the sound of Jake’s voice calling her name that snapped her out of her intense focus and drew her attention toward the storage room. When she saw Jake handcuffed to one of the file cabinets, she grinned. She couldn’t believe her luck. As the senior detective in the ninety-ninth precinct and her significant other, Jake was her biggest threat in this competition, and having him out of the way made it so much easier to win the heist.

 

Amy walked inside, letting her confidence show in her stride and in the bounce of her hair. She immediately noticed that Jake couldn’t keep his eyes off of her, and she used that to her advantage. She had never been incredible at flirting, but her skills had definitely improved since they’d started dating; they spent a lot of time bouncing sexy banter and flirtatious comments off of each other, and she knew exactly what to say to turn Jake on. Once she’d successfully teased away Jake’s concentration, she turned on her heel and left him behind in the storage room.

 

As the door clicked shut behind her, she realized that while she had been teasing her boyfriend, she had completely forgotten to look for the belt. Amy knew there was no way she could go back in there, so she opened the app up again. Sure enough, the belt was now in a completely different room, and just as she was about to close the app, she saw it begin to move. She followed it outside the precinct, but when the flashing light stopped she didn’t see anyone there.

 

Amy looked around her in confusion for a moment until suddenly the desire to sneeze overwhelmed her and she let out an extremely loud one, potentially revealing her location to whomever might be out there. She almost let out another curse in Spanish until she realized what was going on. She only sneezed like that when she was sick, which was not the case, or when there was a dog nearby. Sure enough, Captain Holt’s dog, Cheddar, was standing not far away with the belt in its mouth. Amy really didn’t want to have to spend more time with the dog than necessary, but she knew that if she wanted to win this heist, she had to put herself second to what had to be done to win. She saw a stray dog in the alley that looked a lot like Cheddar, and she found a cheap belt in one of the nearby dumpsters, so she put the belt in the stray’s mouth and left it where Cheddar had been hiding. She then took the real belt out of Cheddar’s mouth and picked up the dog, running into the precinct as quickly as she could and hiding the dog in one of the small closets, leaving the door open a crack so the dog could breathe.

 

Once she got away from the dog, she found a small robot and attached the belt to it, pocketing the controller. Amy returned to her desk, narrowly escaping an interrogation from Terry (who, by the way, she knew was working with Charles and Rosa on a team called the Tramps) when Captain Holt entered the precinct demanding to know what had happened to Cheddar. Amy sat down at her desk and attempted to look as inconspicuous as possible, carefully controlling the robot and moving it into the safe she kept under her desk. Once she locked the safe behind it, she let out a sigh of relief. All she had to do was stall until midnight because there was no way she was going to let anyone get into her safe while she was sitting right next to it.

 

Yet somehow, Jake had managed to do just that. She had been distracted by all of the handmaids and the fake smoke all around her, and she couldn’t keep her attention on the safe under her desk because so much was happening at one time. By the time she could focus again, Jake had opened her safe, and the belt was gone. _At least Jake doesn’t have the belt either_ , she thought, though she had no idea where the belt could have possibly gone.

 

It wasn’t until everyone started running that she realized what had really happened. Someone, probably someone helping Jake, had switched her safe the had the belt in it with one that was completely empty. She pulled up the app on her phone again and saw that the belt was on the move, but then she checked the tracker that she had hidden in Jake’s phone and saw that he was still in the precinct. Her forehead crinkled in confusion; if he had the belt, how could it be moving outside the precinct while he was still inside it? _He must have found my tracker and put it on something else. The belt has to still be in the precinct._ She glanced down at her phone again and saw that Jake was moving toward the evidence room, so she ran there, closing the door behind her just as Jake rounded the corner.

 

Amy stood in front of some of the shelves, waiting once again to surprise Jake. _Today is really full of surprises, isn’t it?_ Amy thought to herself, allowing a smirk to form once again on her face. She heard the door’s handle turn, and Jake walked into the room. _This is it,_ she thought. _It’s time to end this thing._

 

“Hello, Jacob,” she said smugly, smirking even more when she saw Jake stop walking in surprise.

 

“Gah!” Jake exclaimed, facing her. “Wha… Ames, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you out looking for the belt?” he said quickly, clearly trying to distract her from what she already knew: the belt had to be in this room.

 

“You and I both know the belt never left the precinct,” she replied, her hands settling on her hips, her smirk remaining.

 

“I don’t know that. Nobody knows that.”

 

“I kept thinking, how did anyone swap my key?” Amy began, trying her best to stall as the clock crept closer and closer to midnight. “And then it hit me, they didn’t. They swapped the safe. One of the handmaids, I’m assuming fake Charles, took my safe, and then Of Amy deposited a look-alike. What did you give fake Charles so he’d help you?”

 

“Nothing, in fact, he gave me something: the power of financial freedom.” He took a shaky breath. “I invested in a pyramid scheme. There’s no time to go into it right now.”

 

Amy raised an eyebrow, but decided not to question it. Later, though, they’d have to talk about whatever it was Jake had wasted their money on. “Okay,” she said slowly. “So, while we all tried to figure out who had the real key, fake Charles broke into the safe, removed the tracker, and led Terry and the squad on a wild goose chase. My only question is, which box is the belt in?”

 

“Well, good luck figuring it out because the clock is tick, tick, tocking,” Jake replied, a smug look on his face.

 

“It’s that one!” Amy exclaimed, pointing to a box on a nearby shelf as Jake’s face fell.

 

“No!”

 

“The dust pattern on top doesn’t match its neighbors,” Amy replied, grinning as she pulled the box off of the shelf. “You see, Jake? I’m always going to be one step ahead of you. You’ve lost the ability to surprise me! Ya just plain _boring_.”

 

“Again, weird take on our very loving relationship,” Jake said quietly.

 

“And it’s midnight, so I guess _I’m_ an amazing human slash genius,” she said, taking the belt out of the box and holding it up. She couldn’t believe she’d actually managed to beat Jake, for real this time, with no excuses about how no one had known she’d been competing. She was definitely not going to let him live this down.

 

“Yeah,” Jake acknowledged. “Although, you might want to read the inscription on that there belt.” He smiled, pressing his lips together.

 

“Why?” Amy asked, her heart plummeting. Her mind raced through a million theories about what Jake could have done, and she turned back the belt to confirm her worst nightmare: losing the heist to her boyfriend. It would be so much worse than losing the bet. At least the bet had led to them dating. What would this lead to? A proposal? Actually, maybe losing wouldn’t be so bad after all. Amy couldn’t let herself get her hopes up, though; whether she hoped that she would win or that she would lose she didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. “Oh no, what does it say?” She took a deep breath before glancing down at the belt in her hands. “Amy Santiago, will you marry…me?” she read, quickly turning her head to look at the place where Jake had been standing just a moment before. Now, though, he was on one knee, a ring box open in his hands.

 

Amy forgot how to breathe for a moment, the heist forgotten. “Surprise,” Jake said softly.

 

“I’m so confused,” she said, breathing hard. “I don’t know what’s happening right now.”

 

“I’m so confused, I don’t know what’s happening right now: title of your sex tape,” Jake responded, eliciting a breathless laugh from Amy. It sounded more like exhaling than laughing, but she was too in shock to care.

 

“Oh my God, I’m shaking, I’m definitely going to cry.” She paused, the perfect opportunity presenting itself. “Title of your sex tape,” she added. Jake nodded. “Wait,” she said, Jake looking up at her. “Is this really happening? Is this part of the heist? If this is part of the heist, I will dump you _so hard_ ,” Amy said, finally putting the belt down. She had honestly forgotten she was still holding it.

 

“No! Please, Ames, look, it’s really happening, okay? It’s not part of the heist, I promise. This is real,” Jake promised, and Amy believed him.

 

“It is?”

 

“Yeah.” Jake took a deep breath. “Okay, here goes. Ames, I love you. I love how smart you are, I love how beautiful you are, I love your face, and I love your butt.” He made a face once he’d realized what he’d said, but Amy thought it was perfect. “I should have written this down first.”

 

“No, no, it’s okay go on,” Amy said, trying and failing to hold back the tears gathering in her eyes.

 

“I love how much you pretend to like _Die Hard_.”

 

“I like the second one!” Amy protested.

 

“You don’t have to,” Jake said, and Amy relented.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Yeah,” Jake said before continuing with his proposal. “You’re kind and you’re funny and you’re the best person I know. And,” he paused for a moment, “the best detective.” He stopped again and pressed his lips together. “Also for realz, I love your butt.”

 

“I love yours too.”

 

“Gross.” Amy laughed.

 

“Amy Santiago,” Jake said, and Amy was sure she’d really stopped breathing this time, “will you marry me?”

 

There was no question in Amy’s mind that her reply was the right one. “Jake Peralta, I will marry you.”

 

A grin split Jake’s face in half, and she knew her face mirrored his. She was shaking, but she tried to hold her left hand steady so Jake could slide the ring onto her finger. Amy glanced down at it for a moment, noticing just how perfect it was, before pulling Jake toward her and kissing him with all of the love in the world. She felt his hands settle on her waist, and she almost melted. She had never been happier that a competition had ended.

 

They broke apart a few moments later, Amy’s hands on his face and Jake’s on her shoulders. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of him, and she definitely couldn’t stop her tears from falling.

 

She had been right after all. Today really was full of surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Sorry this is late! I know I promised that this would be up on Friday, and I tried my best, but my acapella group went to Maryland this weekend and I didn't have time to write. I really didn't want to rush to finish this, so I waited until today to finish it. I really hope it was worth the wait!!  
> 2\. This chapter is quite a bit shorter than the last one because obviously there isn't as much backstory from Amy's POV as there is from Jake's. I'm still really proud of this, though : )  
> 3\. Thank you guys so much for all of the love on the last chapter!! I was honestly not expecting any of it, and I can't even put into words how happy I am that you guys enjoy my writing. As long as you guys keep reading, I promise I will do my best to keep writing.
> 
> If you have any requests for future fics, whether for Brooklyn Nine-Nine or any other fandom I'm a part of, send me an ask on [ tumblr](http://justwannabeafangirl.tumblr.com)!! Or, if you just want to say hi, you're more than welcome to do so : )


	3. bonus

Jake and Amy were the last to leave Shaw’s that night.

 

They didn’t even notice that everyone had left at first; they were too busy with each other, still absorbing the fact that they were actually engaged. Charles was treating everyone to drinks in celebration of their engagement, and normally Jake never passed up free drinks, but tonight was certainly not normal. He turned away from the bar after just two beers; he wanted to remember every single second of this, and there was no way he’d be able to if he didn’t stay sober. It was hard for Jake to care when Amy was replacing every drink he would have had with kisses and “I love you”s.

 

Amy. She’d barely left his side all night, leaning into Jake when he gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She too was insistent on remembering this night at Shaw’s, so the squad only got to see One-Drink Amy that night, much to Rosa’s disappointment. “Going out for drinks isn’t any fun if you guys don’t drink,” she mumbled, but even she couldn’t hide the grin threatening to emerge on her lips.

 

Everyone in the squad had snuck occasional (constant, in Charles’s case) glances at the newly-engaged couple throughout the night, but Jake and Amy only had eyes for each other.For Jake, the way her eyes shone brighter than the stars (whether from the light in the bar or from the tears or both, Jake couldn’t tell), the way her hair was just slightly rumpled from when he ran his fingers through her hair, and the way her fingers were threaded through his own, the two stones on the ring glittering. For Amy, the way he couldn’t keep that one dopey expression of disbelief off of his face; the way he couldn’t stop saying, “oh my God, you’re my _fiancée_ ” over and over again; and the way he unconsciously rubbed circles into her back, tethering her back to reality when she got lost in daydreams about what their wedding would be like. Granted, she did already have a wedding binder prepared at home, but there was no shame in adding to it.

 

The night had been spent talking about their relationship, slow dancing together on the makeshift dance floor to super cheesy songs, and just enjoying the company of everyone around them. The Nine-Nine were Jake and Amy’s family, and they were so happy they were sharing this milestone in their lives with them.

 

Eventually, the night crept into morning, and the bar had to close. Jake and Amy were both genuinely surprised at how much time had passed without them noticing and at the fact that everyone had left without saying goodbye (“We did!” Charles protested later when Jake asked him about it. “You guys were just too focused on each other to hear us.” Rosa backed him up.) When the bartender that night apologetically told them that they had to leave, they both just smiled, grabbed their jackets, and walked out of the bar, hands swinging between them.

 

When they arrived home, Jake took off his jacket and watched as Amy carefully hung hers up in the small coat closet by the front door of the apartment. He wanted more than anything to just make out with her (and, most likely, more, at least if Amy wanted to), but more than that, he just wanted to talk to her with the covers pulled over them, their bodies radiating heat. Amy turned to him, smiling when she saw him just standing there, lost in thought, that dopey expression back on his face.

 

“What are you thinking about, babe?” Amy asked, smiling softly at Jake.

 

“Just how much I love you,” he replied. He hung up his jacket and took Amy’s hand. “Want to lie down for a while?”

 

Amy raised her eyebrows suggestively, but Jake shook his head, and Amy nodded. “Sure.”

 

Amy let him lead her to their bed, pulling the perfectly made covers back and gesturing to the spot where Amy slept every night. Jake climbed into the other side of the bed, and Amy gently lay her head down against his chest. Her right arm was hidden by the thick blankets, but she proudly displayed her left hand in between them, changing the angle of her hand so the light reflected pretty patterns from the ring onto the walls. “How long did you have this planned?” she said quietly.

 

“Well,” Jake began, “as I said earlier, I got the general idea on April 28. But I didn’t think of the actual proposal idea until I was in prison.” Amy audibly gasped, and Jake bit his lip in thought, the memories of his time in jail still fresh and vivid in his mind. “Planning the intricate details of it got me through each day I was locked in there.”

 

“Babe,” Amy said, reaching for his right hand with her left, the ring cold against his skin. “That’s all over now. What matters is that you’re safe and that we’re together and that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.” She couldn’t help but grin.

 

“Heck yeah we are!” Jake replied. “But yeah, I had a whole document filled with ideas before I left; I would have made an idea _binder_ for you to keep afterward, but you would have discovered it and figured my plans out in about five seconds, so I hid it on my laptop instead. Not as fun, but definitely more practical. I can’t believe it took me until I was alone in prison to think of proposing on _Halloween_. I couldn’t believe I had actually managed to think of the perfect proposal idea. And the worst part was that I didn’t have any paper to write on. Do you know how difficult it is to plan something without paper to write on? It’s difficult, let me tell you.” His eyes softened. “But seriously, I just kept reminding myself that whether I stayed there for a month or fifteen years, you would still be here when I got back, and I would propose to you during the next Halloween Heist.”

 

“And you did.” Amy glanced down at the ring on her finger.

 

“Yeah.” Jake beamed. “I did.” He looked down at their intertwined fingers, rubbing his thumb gently over the soft skin of her hand.

 

“You know, I didn’t expect to ever get engaged,” Amy said suddenly, Jake looking up at her with crinkled skin between his furrowed eyebrows, “at least not to someone I actually loved.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I always thought being truly happy about getting married was only for beautiful, perfect girls with perfect lives who found their fairytale happy ending while they were still really young.” She pulled her hand away from Jake’s for a moment to tuck her hair behind both of her ears, returning her hand to its place in his once she finished. “When I turned thirty, I thought that was it for me. Every relationship I’d ever had was so wrong, like, it looked good to everyone else, but to me, I felt like I was forcing myself to love every single one of those men. I would keep the relationship going with them until it felt like it was getting too serious, at which point I would come up with some dumb excuse to break up and plan it out so I didn’t upset the guy too much. Sometimes, they even broke up with me first. They told me I was too nerdy, too weird, too obsessed with _Jeopardy!_ for her own good.” Her next breath was shaky, whether from sadness or happiness, she couldn’t tell. “When I started dating Teddy, I knew a few months in that I didn’t love him, but I figured he was my best option. I was all set to let him propose to me and call it quits, but then you swooped in and ruined everything.” She grinned, and so did Jake.

 

  
“Ruined everything, huh?”

 

“Mmhmm,” Amy replied. “But then I fell in love with you, and I finally understood what people meant when they talked about love. And then you proposed, and now I’m getting the happy ending I never even dreamed that I could have.” Jake kissed her temple gently, pulling her closer. “Sorry that I just brought all of that up and ruined our perfect night.”

 

“Who said anything about tonight be ruined? And who said ruining something was a bad thing?” Jake pointed out, and Amy laughed. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

 

“Thank you for finally getting your act together and kissing me in the evidence room,” Amy replied.

 

“Thank you for putting up with my crazy.”

 

“Thank you for putting up with _my_ crazy.”

 

“I love you, Amy.”

 

“Noice. Smort. I love you too, Jake.”

 

“Hey, I just realized,” Jake said suddenly. “We need to cross ‘get engaged’ off of the life plan.” He reached into the drawer in his bedside table, shuffling everything around a bit until he found a Sharpie. He carefully stood up on the bed, pulling Amy to her feet beside him. “Would you like to do the honors?”

 

“I would love to,” Amy replied. She took the Sharpie from Jake’s hand and filled in the box next to the words “get engaged”. A tear slipped down her cheek, and Jake immediately wiped it away.

 

Amy handed the Sharpie back to Jake, and they jumped off of the bed and onto the floor. “I think we should celebrate. Want a drink?” Amy asked.

 

“Ames, I thought we weren’t getting drunk tonight.”

 

“Who said anything about alcohol?” Amy replied, smirking. She ran into the kitchen and returned with an unopened bottle of orange soda and two cups.

 

Jake had never loved her more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I don't remember what I originally had planned for this, but I'm definitely happy with how it came out.  
> 2\. I'm sorry that it's so short, but I hope that the fluffiness makes up for it : )  
> 3\. This is the end of this little series, but I'm starting a "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and "The Good Place" crossover fic that should have its first chapter up next week, and I have a heck of a lot more planned for after that. Seriously, you guys have no idea how long my list of ideas is.
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading as always!! If you have a request for a fic or just want to say hi, send me an ask or a message on my [ tumblr](http://justwannabeafangirl.tumblr.com) : )


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